Aust filmmakers arrested over firearm drama

Four Melbourne filmmakers have been charged on summons after a passer-by mistook their theatrical gunplay for a real-life drama.

Police were called to a block of flats in inner suburban Carlton about 10.40pm (AEDT) yesterday, when a member of the public reported seeing a person threatening another with a firearm.

"A person came into Carlton police station pretty distressed, saying they had seen a guy with a gun. All they said was that they saw the gun being held to someone's head," a police spokesman said.

Police and a critical incident response team sealed off the area and arrested the four people at the scene.

Film equipment and an imitation firearm were allegedly found.

"It looks like they were making a film and they were the only ones that knew about it," the spokesman said.

The four men in their 20s face charges of possessing a firearm - which includes imitation weapons - and causing a public nuisance.